The 2010 Olympics were great. I really got involved in sports that I have never watched before such as the Skeleton and Curling. Since I have begun my internet marketing business, I have been blogging like crazy and that has pushed me to research and read about new and exciting things. I never thought I would have anything to say about the Norwegians and their crazy pants , but I found myself writing about them and then joining their Facebook fanpage!

One thing I have always wondered about but never had the motivation to look up is how the host city is chosen for the Olympics. Of all the cities around the world, how do they choose one? So, I started researching and this is what I found.

Any city that feels they have what it takes to host the Olympics can apply to the International Olympic commission (IOC).  The IOC will then investigate that city over the next ten months.  They will look for things such as:

1. The city must prove that it is big enough to handle Olymp ic games and the huge number of tourists, athletes, journalists and politicians. They must be able to host the games in new stadiums and must be able to house all the people in hotels and provide transportation. They must also be able to provide adequate security.

2. The residents of that city must be convinced that the expenses of covering the Olympics are worth it. The city may raise taxes in order to  cover this endeavor.

3. The media coverage in that city must be highly positive.

If the IOC decides that the city has fulfilled all three points above, it is considered a “Candidate City” and it will move on to the second phase. In this phase, the city sends in an application and fee which can cost up to $150,000. If a city is chosen to host the Olympics, it is a great honor. The city not only is able to show pride for their city and country, they are in the international spotlight and they have the opportunity to bring new jobs to the community and build up tourism.

The 2012 Summer Olympics will be held in London from July 27 through August 12, 2012.  They will be the first city to host the Olympic games three times (it was previously held there in 1908 and 1948).   Applications were submitted in July of 2003 and there were nine cities that submitted bids. These cities were Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig, London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris and Rio de Janeiro.

By July of 2005 it was narrowed down to Paris and London. At the end of the fourth round of voting, London won the right to host the 2012 Games with 54 votes, defeating Paris’s 52. Various French publications blamed the Paris loss on French President Jacques Chirac‘s statements before the vote that “We can’t trust people [the British] who have such bad food. After Finland, it’s the country with the worst food.” Two current members of the IOC are from Finland!

In my last post that covered Curling, I admitted that I had never watched the sport before. I had no desire to because it seemed so unexciting. I mean, no one was flying through the air on boards or hurtling full-throttle down an ice tunnel. In Curling, there are just stones and brooms.

But now, since the Norwegians have spiced things up a little with the crazy argyle pants from Loudmouth Golf, I have to say I am ready to give it a chance.

Usually the teams are making the tough choice between wearing dark gray, black or blue, but red, white and blue argyle? I don’t think there is anything wrong with calling a little attention to yourself, and Thomas Ulsrud and his Norwegian curling team are also showing they have the shots to back up their look.

Almost 400,000 people have joined a Facebook Fan page dedicated to the trousers. And golfer John Daly, who is sponsored by the pants’ creator, Loudmouth Golf, and wears a wide array of the colorful pants on the PGA Tour, give his support to the team. Daly also offered up some advice for his struggling American curlers.  “We do make colors for the American team. Maybe they should consider wearing them. It might bring them some luck.”

Obviously they are not in it just for the fashion. The Norwegian curl team is focused on the gold. Their 6-3 win today over Denmark and the loss from the Swedish team has moved them into sole possession of second place. Only the top four teams at the end of the round robin tournament will have a chance to win a medal. Canada is the defending champion, but by the looks of things, Norway is hot on their heels.